The AMC Hornet SC360: It was one of the last of the factory muscle cars introduced and American Motor’s newest compact muscle machine.

AMC made a colorful splash in 1969 with the Hurst SC/Rambler, a one-year wonder with 390 cubes, 315 horsepower and red, white and blue paint. Then it was gone. Poof. But for ’71, AMC returned to the market with the Hornet SC360. And it didn’t need any help from Hurst or anyone else to build it this time.

The ’71 SC360 added muscle and flair to the compact Hornet, which replaced the Rambler American in 1970. (Photo by Jim Campisano

The plan was pretty simple: Just drop a healthy 360 under a functional scooped hood and battle it out with the other remaining supercars. The Hornet SC360 was a one-year-only wonder, released just as compression ratios were coming down and insurance rates were going up.

The Buzz Around The New Model

The Hornet name was sacred in AMC’s history. In the early days of NASCAR, the then-Hudson Hornet dominated the circuit, winning consecutive championships from 1951 to 1954 with men like Marshall Teague and Tim Flock behind the wheel. In ’70, the Hornet name returned, this time on a compact car equipped to compete with the likes of the Ford Maverick, Chevy Nova and Plymouth Valiant and Duster.

For those wanting excitement and better-than-standard six-cylinder performance, the hot new model for ’71 was the Hornet SC360. To be honest, the base SC360 was only two-barrel-equipped and made a mere 245 ponies (insects?). It offered similar performance to the Maverick Grabber with its 302 and any 318-powered Valiant or Dodge Dart. That base mill was just a stepping stone to the real performer, however.

Order the optional $199 Go Package and you had the magic formula: A four-barrel carb-equipped 360 came complete with a functional cold-air hood and upped the pony count to 285 at 4800 rpm.

Torque was a surprising 390 lb-ft at only 3200 rpm, giving you a ton of punch around town. Compression was a regular-fuel friendly 8.5:1, not only a nod to the low cost of operation American Motors was famous for, but an acceptance to the nation’s low- and no-lead gasoline future. (Compression on the 360 in 1970 was 10:1 in the Javelin/AMX version and it only produced 5 hp and 5 lb-ft torque more than the ’71 version.)

Also coming with the Go Package were dual exhausts, a tachometer, heavy-duty suspension and raised white letter tires.

Standard with the Hornet SC360 was a three-speed manual trans. Many, like our feature car, got the Borg-Warner Super T10 four-speed with a standard Hurst shifter. There was also a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic available.

Goodyear Polyglas D70x14 blackwall tires that measured about 25.4-inches tall and 8-inches wide were standard, and raised white letter tires were optional. A heavy duty suspension package, and the Twin-Grip limited-slip diff with 3.54 or 3.90 gears were also available at extra cost. The SC360 came with AMC’s Rally wheels, but our feature car was equipped with the optional Magnum 500-style rims.

Traction bars of unknown origin were added in the ’70s and remain on the Hornet today. (Photo by Jim Campisano)

Why A Hornet? Why Not!

The current keeper of our feature car (who wishes to remain anonymous) is the third owner. He’s loved AMCs since he was a child, a passion he inherited from his parents, who always owned them. The original purchaser kept this particular car for just a short while before trading it back to the dealer. The second owner was far more serious. Not long after taking possession, he added the Edelbrock intake, traction bars, and long-tube headers. He raced it for many years (see photos). The car still wears those traction bars, the tow-hooks he added up front, and a couple of aftermarket gauges.

It was repainted once in Limelight Green Iridescent, but retains its original, unmolested sheetmetal.

This is a four-speed car and the second owner added the 3.90 gears. While the car came with a Hurst shifter from the factory, he added a more race-oriented stick that runs perpendicular to the floor. The factory unit curved up and over the split reclining bench seat.

“I’ve always liked the Javelin and AMXs, but when I bought this car I never knew how rare it was,” said the owner, who we’ll call Mr. SC360. “Back in the ’80s it was just a car.”

Speaking of rare, the common belief is that it is one of only 784 SC360s produced. Considering the fact that some of them were two-barrel equipped and others had automatics, this makes our feature car fairly uncommon, though the exact number of four-speed/Go Package cars is unknown.

All About Power-To-Weight

The fact that the Hornet was a relative featherweight, coming in at around 3,200 pounds with a driver, gave it a real performance advantage, especially after you started adding aftermarket high-performance goodies. This particular Hornet had headers installed by the second owner, who raced it at the track and ran high 13s.

Mr. SC360 did a rebuild on the engine a few years ago when one of the lobes on the camshaft went bad. He decided that was a good time to rebuild the engine. He replaced the rings, bearing, timing chain, etc. The cam is a Crane flat-tappet piece that is close to the stock specs. He ordered it on the Crane tech department’s recommendation with the four-speed and current gearing in mind.

“You get on it and it wakes up? You’re going!” SC360 said.

In the go department, Motor Trend, Hot Rod, and Car Craft magazines all got their driving gloves on the hot little Hornet SC360 for testing that year. Hot Rod reported a best of 14.80 at 95 mph with the automatic test vehicle. Motor Trend, also with an automatic, clocked in a hair behind at 15.0 at 94. Car Craft added sticky tires, headers, and traction bars to record a best of 13.78 at 101.92 mph.

Mr. SC360 appreciates the car’s rarity and uniqueness — and the fact that few people know what a Hornet is anymore.

“It’s just an unusual car,” SC360 said. “When I say ‘AMC,’ people remember Gremlins and Pacers.”

But not the Hornet SC360.

Rare then and impossibly hard to find today, the Hornet SC360 cost little to insure when new, and it was definitely a bargain supercar. Too bad it only lasted one model year.

Functional cold-air hood was part of the optional Go Package. (Photo by Jim Campisano)